Worst fans all season
 

Well, the tournament here in Portland is ending later today and I got to work what I think was the 3rd grade title game. Big whoop. Actually, the kids enjoyed themselves and worked hard, which is the point. A team from Seattle beat a team from I don't know where, 32-24. The coaches yelled at the kids but not very much at the officials, which was a big change from the other games I worked at this tourney.

However, the parents were worse than horrible. I was really unaware that foul calls against a third grader would result in that kid losing a D1 scholarship, but from the comments we heard from the crowd, you would have bet that's just what would happen. I'm sure I heard the comment, "CALL THE FOUL" at least 1,000,000,000 times - and that was just in the first quarter.

Hmmm, let's see - if everything someone yelled is true, then I am blind, I stink, I'm an idiot, I don't know my a$$ from a hole in the ground (which doesn't matter because I couldn't find it with both hands anyway), I don't have a clue, I'm a homer (if they meant Simpson, that would be cool), I suck and I'm the worst.

Hey - at least I'm not "bad".

Oh yeah, my partner is even worse than me, poor guy.

I found out that yesterday, one of the female officials had to be escorted off the court out to her car because of some fans (both male and female) harassing her after a game. Fortunately, no one touched her.

Chin up, old bean!
 

3rd grade games can also make you smile.

Mark,

Yesterday, 3rd grade girls game (CYO) the final game of their 10 game season. At 3rd grade, they allow each player on each team to shoot FTs at half time, with the results added to the 3rd quarter score. If there is a differential between numbers on the team, the team with fewer players can make up the margin by having players shoot twice, so that each team shoots the same number.

Anyways, my partner has Team A and they have 9 players. I have team B with 7.

My players all shoot, from a modified imaginary line at about the 8 foot mark. 1 shot goes in. Coach gets 2 more shots.

He brings the smallest girl out to shoot. He kneels down next to her and is whispering to her. She's got a big smile on her face. She looks confident. Shoots -- airball.

I expect him to bring in another player for the last one, but no, same girl is going to shoot. At this point the light goes on that this girl hasn't scored all season, and he's trying to get her a point.

Again, he's down on a knee, whispering encouragement or telling her a joke, or somesuch. Anyways, up the shot goes... nothing but net. Girl goes crazy, coach goes crazy, fans go crazy.

It felt like I offered a little fist pump, but maybe that was just my imagination.

Those same fans must have flown into the Dayton, Ohio area Saturday night.

Girls varsity game-home team is 6-13, visitors are 0-19. Visitors think they have a chance to win a game and home is planning on opening up a big old can of kick butt. Things don't start out too well for the home team. Lots of obvious fouls...we're calling 'em all (neither team can play through ANY contact).

I call a foul on the home team (A1 runs into B1 and knocks her down...easy call, foul on A1). Home coach looks like I just took his last cookie. He calls me over and then yells out (so everyone can hear) "that was a HORRIBLE call!".

Whack! Have a seat coach. I report the foul and the technical and we get everything lined up. I take a look at the scoreboard. It says we've called 17 total fouls...and we still have OVER four minutes to play in the first period!

We called 35 fouls in the first half. Second half not much better. Our total was 62 for the game (5 girls fouled out).

Oh yeah, the fans...they were pretty brutal (to us and the visiting team). Right before the first half ended, I heard "These guys must have graduated from the Ray Charles school of refereeing". Not bad. If I could have found 3 pair of sunglasses and 3 canes, I would have insisted we take the floor for the second half with them on.

Oh well, the home team ended up winning by 15 points. Free Subway sandwiches after the game. All is good in referee land.

Sheez, travelling teams in the 3rd grade?? That is wrong on so many levels....

Thanks for this info Mark. Always good to know a little bit more about a fellow ref! :eek:

And having Mark (Mr. T'em and Toss em) ref them is right? :)

... and they wonder why their kids get burned out and want to quit playing sports by the time they reach high school...